For Bastian Baker, a Swiss singer and songwriter now on tour with Shania
Twain, music has always been more than just a hobby or something to do to fill
the time.

“Music is the one thing I needed to do,” Baker said in an interview with the
Daily Herald prior to his upcoming concert with Shania Twain at Vivint Arena on
Saturday. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s a need. Growing up, I was listening to
Queen. I was listening to ‘The Show Must Go On,’ and I thought, ‘Man, I want to
do something like that.’ So I transitioned from professional hockey to music in
2011 and have been traveling the world ever since.”

Baker is quite the mixed bag when it comes to talent. Following in his
father’s footsteps, he pursued a professional hockey career with the Swiss
National League, but his love for music stayed with him, and he eventually went
on to win Swiss Oscars and MTV Europe Music Awards, with appearances on “The
Voice” in Belgium and “Dancing With the Stars” in France.

He’s shared the stage with Bryan Adams, Elton John, Boy George and more, but
considers his friendship with Twain one of the most influential of his
career.

“It’s a fun story,” Baker said of how the pair first met. “It happened at the
Montreux Jazz Festival, which is a legendary festival they have in Switzerland.
The guy who founded it, the guy who founded it, (Claude Nobs), was the guy who
discovered me playing a bar the first week after I dropped my first album.”

Nobs invited Baker to play not at the festival particularly, but outdoors
surrounding it, which is where Twain first heard him play. According to Baker,
it was right after that Twain sought him out.

“They told me, ‘There’s a Canadian singer here to meet you,’ ” Baker said. “I
knew Shania Twain, and knew all her songs, but I didn’t know what an icon she
is. I was a little younger and didn’t grow up listening to her music, only what
I heard on the radio. I didn’t know about the hundreds and millions of records
sold and the Grammys, so we’ve always been on the same level. … She’s easy to be
friends with because she’s at the most humble, down-to-earth level.”

Baker was just 18 when he first met Twain, and now, six years later, she
invited him to join her on her “Now Tour.” Though Baker’s music has already
reached a high level of success on the international stage, with the help of
Twain, he’s working to move toward finding an American audience as well.

Baker is now currently working on an album in Nashville, but said that will
in no way influence his music to just be country, as the city is largely known
for.

“Honestly, when I first came to Nashville, I talked to some production
companies and they said, ‘If you’d come here five years ago, I’d say it’s not
the right place for you, but now it’s opening up.’ I like that there’s less
genre. I don’t really fit in any of the boxes, so it’s awesome that everything
is opening — there’s pop, folk, rock, country and indie artists. I do a lot of
things — I like to write fun melodies and songs where people can sing along. One
day I’ll write a super pop catchy song and the next day a depressing folk
ballad.”

According to Baker, one of the things he’s most proud of and grateful for it
the support his career has received from artists in his home country, where
music is considered less of a viable career.

“In Switzerland, it’s not a dream that’s very accessible, because there are
not many possibilities to become an artist. It’s the only job where you don’t
get paid certain amounts a month to make a good living, so it’s a risky
choice.”

But it’s one that has paid off and led Baker to traveling the world and
pursuing his passion in front of millions.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid, and now more than ever,”
he said. “That’s where the American dream really does inspire me. There are so
many inspiring stories.”

With more time hopefully opening up in the future, Baker said his key goal
will be to share that passion with others, especially in his home country.

“I want to start a school and teach songwriting to kids,” he said. “I want to
have them dream about being a songwriter.”

Twain has definitely done what she can to support Baker’s dreams as an
artist, at least according to Baker, who actually performs with Twain during her
concerts.

“The best part of performing is how she’s introducing me every night, calling
me her favorite songwriter and an amazing entertainer and human being,” Baker
said. “And I’m on the side of the stage blushing. … It’s awesome that they know
the main act hand-picked me and it’s her choice.”

The pair perform “Party For Two” and “Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed,” in a
part of the show that Baker said is just straight-up fun.

“Definitely we have the most honest, fun, cool relationship, and I love it,”
he said. “Her husband also is one of my best friends now, and the great thing on
tour is that after the show we can just hang out and talk until 6 a.m. — it’s
pretty rare nowadays to find someone you can talk to until six in the morning. …
They’re such amazing, genuine people.”

Though Baker rocks the stage when he’s performing with Twain, his unique
style during his opening is a little more stripped back, meaning just his voice
and an acoustic guitar.

“I’m an honest person, and I’m the same in my songwriting and when I’m
performing — I am who I am,” he said. “It’s the perfect set up for me to come on
stage on my own.”

Though during his own European tours, Baker played with an eight-piece band,
he said, “It’s always funny to find myself alone in front of thousands of
people. … I’m having a blast playing North American arenas for the first time in
my life, and I hope in a couple years we can make those arenas with our own
shows.”

Baker will hit the stage of Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on
Saturday, and said he’s looking forward to an incredible show in a new
location.

“I wish the world was a concert venue,” he said. “I love how all kinds of
backgrounds of people come together in one place and just enjoy music. My goal
every night is just to make sure everyone leaves with a smile on their face and
can just be happy.”